The Ruins
by Queenbeth2
Summary: AUAH. After exploring the ruins of an old castle, Bella is acting strange. Edward is about to learn that there is more to a classic story than he ever dreamed when it comes back to life. Fully summary inside I can't explain it easily. ExB CxE please read!
1. Chapter 1

DC: I don't own it

Yet another story! Yay!

Summary: Edward always believed in what he could see. Ever since the trip to the ruins, Bella has been acting strange. Quieter than usual and haunted. Every day the bruises darken and the rope marks cut deeper. Is it a curse or something else? It seems to get worse the more time passes since the trip. Edward learns more about a fairy tale than he ever dreamed and how the story lives on...even if he doesn't want it to.

Chapter 1,

Do you believe in magic? That's what Mrs. Henderson asked us at the beginning of the semester. Bella asked me the same question a few months later when we were in the library together working on our semester project. She looked at me with a look I had never seen before. At least not when it was directed towards me. Her eyes were warmer then usual, and they looked deeper.

"Do you believe in magic?" she asked in a quiet voice.

I looked up at her strangely, about to tell her off for being stupid when I caught the look in her eyes.

"No," I replied civilly. "I don't believe in things that I can't see or that can't be explained."

"So then you don't believe in oxygen, or gravity?" she asked, reverting to the same smart-ass Bella I knew.

"Oxygen and gravity, though invisible, are felt, ergo, they exist. Magic, not so much."

Bella chewed on her pen cap and watched me. I could feel her eyes burning through the top of my skull.

"What?" I asked impatiently.

"Nothing," she answered.

I went back to my book and notes. I couldn't hear the scratching of a pen on paper or the flipping of pages. She was probably daydreaming again. She's always been that way. She's always staring off into space, jotting notes here and there and somehow passing every class with a B+ or better.

Bella has always been there, and not in a good way. She has always been my rival and she'll be damned if someone else takes over. We torture each other frequently with childish pranks and immature jokes. Our parents thought, rather, hoped, that we would grow out of it when we reached high school but we didn't. Towards the end of junior year we seemed to grow bored of the old torments and began living our own lives. Until a month ago, we barely acknowledged each other.

"Do you believe in fate?"

"What's with the questions, huh?" I snapped.

Bella looked at me with narrowed eyes. If I didn't hate her so much, I would probably be one of the many guys drooling over her. As much as I hate to admit it, Bella had become a fairly attractive young woman. Piercing brown eyes and long brown hair, a perfect complexion and a nice waist line of what I would guess to be a ten or twelve. Gah, I hate that I see her as a woman. When I came back from once again contemplating her looks, I see that she has gone back to work. Scribbling notes and the occasional doodle.

Our assignment was one of the most famous love stories of all time. The story of Prince Carlisle and Esme. Unlike many other children's stories this one was true. As usual it was over romanticized over time and I think some parts have been added for drama. For instance, Carlisle's father being a wizard and Esme being an elf or a faerie. The bottom line, it was a prince that fell in love with a servant in the palace.

"What's the point in reading all this stuff anyway? I mean what are we really learning?"

"Well you'd know if you paid any attention," I growled.

Bella looked at me with the same narrowed eyes.

"We've been hearing the same story in every single history class. Our project is going to be boring with a capital B. Surely there is something new about it."

"Well, all you want to hear about is how wonderful they were in love," I said dryly.

"Seriously, Edward, what are we going to talk about? We've been reading books for a month and we still don't have anything good!"

"Well what do you suggest?" I asked smoothly, expecting a sputter and a sarcastic response in place of a good idea.

"Let's go to the old castle," she suggested, "get a feel for the place where it all happened. Maybe we'll find something there."

"Yes, Nancy Drew, let's go poke around the haunted house and see if we find a clue!"

She answered by throwing a paper ball at my forehead.

--

"Edward, tomorrow I'm going to visit my sister, would you like to come?" Mom asked over the usual friday night pizza.

"Nah," I answered taking a bite of pepperoni, "besides, I'm going to the ruins with Bella tomorrow."

"You two sure are spending a lot of time together," she replied with a sigh, "could it be you two are becoming friends?"

"It's for the project, mom."

"Sure, sure."

"It is!"

"Then why are you trying so hard to convince me?" She asks with a grin. I answer by taking another bite and washing it down with soda.

"She's been acting weirder then usual," I said casually, "daydreaming more."

"Well just as long as she isn't trying to start something, I'm fine. God knows how many times she made you cry when you were little."

"Mom!"

Mom just laughed and takes her plate into the kitchen. Leave it to her to remember every embarrassing thing about me. She always seems to forget that I used to make Bella cry just as often.

"You'll need to make sure you wear old sweats, and bring some food and water so you can have a picnic," mom said walking back into the dinning room. "You'll have to dig up your old sneakers too."

"Mom, I'm just going to some ruins, not climbing a mountain."

"Are you sure about going? I hear it's haunted."

"Yeah, yeah I heard that too," I said dryly, "they only say it's haunted because supposedly every other castle in the world is. Geez you're worse then Bella."

"You're sure talking about her a lot, Eddie."

"I'm going to bed!"

That night I had a weird dream. Probably from too much studying. It was about Prince Carlisle. I dreamt that I was him and I was searching frantically for Esme. Towards the end of the dream she appeared before me and kept asking me why I didn't save her. I told her that I didn't know why and then I woke up.

It was still early, just after seven, but I decided to stay up anyway. After all, I had to get ready for the trip. I looked out my window and saw Bella sitting at her desk. Of course she lives next door, and of course I get a perfect view of her room. Usually her curtains are drawn but she left them open tonight.

It was strange seeing her up at this hour, especially on a weekend. Usually as I'm getting my books and keys from my desk I see her jump out of bed at a quarter till eight. How she manages to look the way she does with that little prep time is beyond me.

She looks upset. I couldn't see her face clearly, but her posture says enough. She was propping her forehead up on her elbow and her other hand was resting in her lap. Maybe it's my imagination, but I could have sworn I saw someone behind her.

--

"Good lord are you ever on time?" I complained as Bella showed up on my doorstep about a half hour after we agreed to meet.

"You know you could have just come over and grabbed me," she said, clearly annoyed.

"Hello Bella!" My traitorous mother said from the living room.

"Hello Mrs. Masen!"

"Oh give me a break," I moaned, "I'm leaving!"

"Bye honey! Be careful! I'll probably be gone by the time you get back!"

I figured that much. Bella announced that she was driving because my car made her mad. She was the queen at lame reasons, but she was so stubborn that arguing with her was pointless. I got into her old truck and with a roar of the engine, we took off.

"Are you sure this thing will make it there? I'm pretty sure it was built when Prince Carlisle was born."

"Say what you will but do you remember last year when it totaled your volvo?"

How could I forget! The roads had been slick and she pulled out right in front of me! At least that's my version. She tells something more along the lines of I lost control on the slick road and crashed into her just as she was pulling out. The cops, insurance company, my parents and her parents all happened to agree. It's because she's the favorite. Or maybe because it was actually my fault. But I like my earlier reasoning better. Anyway, my volvo crumpled like a paper cup against the bumper of her red beast.

Dad bought me a new one though. He usually got me whatever I wanted. I just had to hint that I liked it. It was his way of apologizing for abandoning me for a twenty-five-year-old version of my mom. I was fifteen, and two years later and the tramp is now Mama Jeanie, complete with a replacement kid named Scott.

"So have you talked to Mama Jeanie lately?" Bella asked.

I hate it when she did that. She knew I didn't like the woman.

"She's a sweetheart."

"She's a stupid skanky tramp that needs to die."

"Oh come now you're being silly. And Scotty is so cute!"

"Now you're just trying to piss me off!" I accused angrily. She stuck her tongue out at me. Forget what I thought earlier. Bella was still the same. I fumbled with the stereo system my cousin Emmett got for her for her birthday after he was forced to listen to her old one when we all had to drive to school together last winter. My volvo was still recovering and his parents didn't let him drive in the snow. For good reason. Emmett is a little insane sometimes.

"How is Emmett anyway?"

"Will you stop doing that?!" I cried. "Jesus you're like a circus freak!"

"He's always been my favorite."

Next to Alice, my sister. She thinks that Bella is so funny and they got along like some twisted wonder team.

"I haven't heard from Alice in a while, how does she like college?"

"Seriously! Knock it off! Stupid mind reader!"

"Not really. I'm good at guessing your train of thought."

Is my mind really that predictable?!

"Yes," Bella answered.

"STOP THAT!"

--

Bella and I have always had one thing in common. We have always been very perceptive people. Sometimes it seems to go a bit further. Bella calls it a sixth sense, I call it superior instincts. I didn't really know much about it, or really care. I always seemed to be able to read people but I could never read her. It was like her mind was operating on a different frequency. She was different.

We both felt something. Something that wasn't right. Something cold and chilling. Like we were stepping into something that had remained silent and still for years. I took out my digital camera and took a picture of the ruins.

"Let's start climbing," Bella said. I sighed. She grabbed a bag and slung it over her shoulder before attacking the steep hill. There were stones jutting out here and there for us to grab onto but for the most part it was smooth and grassy. This was one of the reasons why nobody came here. It was a workout just to get to the darn place.

When we reached the top of the hill it took my breath away. We could see everything. Our town looked so beautiful. I took a picture. I looked over at Bella and saw that she was looking at the ruins. I turned to look too. It was stunning. The stone was almost gold in the sunlight. Broken and crumbled, covered in moss and vines.

Trees were growing out of the walls. Long and thick branches had pierced the stone and it lay in crumbs at the trunk. It was so beautiful and in a way, intimidating. A one powerful castle stood before us. I glanced over and Bella was looking at the towers. She was holding herself strangely. Her arms were folding, almost as if she was hugging herself.

"Shall we?" I asked.

She nodded and we approached the door. We pushed on the heavy oak. It budged just enough for us to squeeze in. This place was safe from gangs and other things like that. Nobody wanted to come near it even if they didn't mind the hike. It was supposed to be haunted.

Once inside I took some pictures. The sun filtered in through holes in the ceiling and walls. The foyer was massive. Twice my house and wide open. There were paintings and tapestries on the walls. It surprised me, I was sure that those artifacts would have been harvested for the advancement of knowledge. But that was just how afraid of the place people were.

"It's...cold..." Bella murmured beside me.

It was a little chilly I guess. But we were in the shade after being in the direct sun for a while. I took a few steps and something crunched under my foot. A broken piece of pottery. I knelt down and picked it up. The historian in my did backflips of joy. I put it in my satchel and turned to show Bella but she was gone.

"Bella?"

"Over here," she said from the stairs. I came up to her and she tossed me a flashlight. She had come prepared. She pointed it up the stairs and moved it a little to see what was up there. "We need to find Carlisle's room."

"That might be best, yes," I agreed. But where to start? I started up the stairs. I looked back and Bella was still standing where she was. "What is it?"

She shook her head, dismissing it as nothing, and followed me up the stairs.

TBC

Review and enjoy!


	2. Chapter 2

DC: I don't own it

Thanks to my reviewers!

I'm glad some people think Bella is annoying. It's supposed to be how Edward sees her. lol fun!

Chapter 2,

I reached the top of the stairs and looked around. This place was creepy alright. The upstairs especially. It was so quiet and much darker. I moved my flashlight slowly, taking in everything. Dust was everywhere. There was a thick layer on the floor. I grabbed Bella's hand. She gave me a strange look.

"Dude."

"Sorry," I mumbled.

"Which way should we look first?"

"In the west," she said, "Carlisle loved the sunset and he would want the best view of it."

"What kind of nonsense is that?" I demanded. Bella pushed by me and headed off. "That's north by the way."

"Oh shut up," she grumbled, walking east.

"Keep trying," I said, thoroughly amused. She pushed me and went west. I followed her with a smile on my face. She was entertaining in her own way.

We walked down the hall. There were rotting portraits on the walls and moss creeping in. Overall it was creepy, not nearly as beautiful as the outside. By the look of it we were in the outer hall. There were no window frames. No glass shards.

"How old is this place anyway?" Bella asked.

"Fifteenth century maybe," I guessed. "This place hasn't been used since the sixteenth century. Maybe seventeenth."

"Not since he died," Bella murmured.

"Which he? There were a lot of them."

"Your mom."

"Oh aren't we the pinnacle of mature," I grumbled. She looked back at me and flashed the light in my face.

"I learn it all from you my dearest Edward," she said.

I sighed and followed her down the hallway. On the corner there was a large room. We walked in and saw a wide open space. There was a broken bed in the center on a platform I was ever surprised how much was left in this place. It was almost...unnatural.

"Bella look at this," I said, turning my attention to a box on the floor. I knelt down. It was a wooden box with a big metal lock on it. I lifted it. It was really heavy.

"What do you think is in it?" Bella asked, kneeling beside me.

"I have no idea," I said, turning it over. It had beautiful decorations carved into it. Bella stood and I heard her walk off to another part of the room. I looked up and she was staring out the window. Curiosity got the better of me and I went to the window and followed her line of sight. Rather than looking out at the beautiful view, she was looking down at a tree. The tree stood out among the others because of the pink blossoms. "Bella?"

"The key," she whispered.

"What?"

"What?"

I rolled my eyes. Bella was never helpful. She twirled her flashlight in her hand. Leave it to her to go completely ADD on me when we were supposed to be working. She stopped suddenly and glared at me. I swear she can read minds. She turned and left the room.

"Wait up!" I called after her. She didn't wait. I didn't expect her to. It was always like this. Little battles for control, and it had been the same since childhood. Come to think of it, I can't even remember why we didn't like each other. Habit I guess. Or maybe because she was the most infuriating little creature in the world!

"Hurry up or the ghosts will get you," she said in a lazy sing song voice. I glared again. Whoever thought Bella Swan was beautiful and an object of desire was severely disturbed.

I stopped when I heard something. I whirled around and came face to face with nothing but air and darkness. "Hey, Bella, did you see..." I turned around. Bella was gone. "Bella?!"

I ran down the hall, determined to find her. She had to pick today of all days to be a brat. I needed to slow down. I had no way to tell if the floor was sturdy or not. I saw Bella ahead and sighed.

"Bella get back here!" I yelled. She looked towards me. Her face was as white as a sheet.

"Edward..." she said quietly. I barely heard her. She took a step and there was a crunching sound, like stones rubbing together. She looked down just before she disappeared with a scream.

"BELLA!" I yelled. I ran down the hall and found her hanging.

"EDWARD!" She screamed. I dropped to my knees and grabbed her arms. I tugged on her arms. For someone so small she sure was heavy! She screamed again. I wanted to yell at her to calm down but there was no use. I looked up and saw a flash of white. Before I could do a double take Bella went still. Completely still. Oddly so actually. If it were me I'd be flailing and scrambling to get back up. Her body went limp. I couldn't pull her up. It was as if she was stuck on something. Then, suddenly she came free. I pulled her up and she fell on top of me. Much to my surprise she gripped me in...a hug.

"Are you okay?" I asked. She smelled nice. Like strawberries and freesia.

"Edward," she sobbed, "this place..."

"Time to go," I said. Just to check, I knelt down by the hole and dropped my head down for a peek. There was nothing there. Just an empty corridor. Was it the fear of falling that kept her screaming? And why did she go so limp like that?

I shined my light down and continued to see nothing. With a sigh I heaved myself up and found Bella standing. She held one hand to her lips, chewing on her nails again.

"Let's go," I said. I took her hand and pulled her off. She was in shock but I had no idea from what. She hesitated at the top of the stairs, looking off down the corridor. I looked but whatever it was it was gone now. I reached towards her impatiently and when she didn't respond I grabbed her hand again. It was like grabbing ice. "You're hand is freezing."

She didn't say a word. She walked by me and I followed her. When we got outside it was pouring rain. That didn't make any sense at all! It was clear and sunny just a moment ago when we were in Carlisle's room. A few clouds perhaps but not nearly that many! Bella walked into the rain, not even wincing as the thunder rolled overhead.

We made it back to the truck with some difficulty. As hard as it was going up, it was just as hard going down with the slippery grass. We made it and Bella slid into the drivers seat. She started the car and drove off, silent the entire way.

--

Bella Swan was a flake! I couldn't believe that she was standing me up like this! What a little brat! Mrs. Henderson was calling each group up to present their findings thus far. Stupid flakey Bella! She had one job. One! Show up today. Was that really too hard for her to manage?! I mean really!

Mike looked smugly at me. He had a thing for Bella. I had absolutely no idea why he would have feelings for such a horrid pest and even less of an idea as to why he saw me as a threat! Paranoid I guess. In all honesty I was much more attractive than he was and much more appealing to the opposite sex. My aloofness made it worse for me. The girls ate it up. Especially Jessica Stanley.

I was willing to believe there was someone I disliked more than Bella.

"Edward, would you come and present your findings? Isn't Bella here?"

"She's sick," I muttered. Or she was going to be, I would make sure of that.

"I'll have to take points for that."

I was going to freaking murder her!

"Now if you could present what you have found..."

Bella had that packet. Murder was going to be justified!

"Well we have found much of the same really," I said, "the common stories about the prince and Esme..."

I heard the door open. Bella came in. Well better late than never I suppose. At least I won't have to commute to kill her.

"Ah Miss Swan so glad you could join us."

"We have theories that Carlisle and Esme planned on marriage and that Carlisle's father knew about it. We also have theories that his death was a direct result to hers as he died less than a year after she went missing. It makes perfect sense when you think about it, he was so in love with her and when his father killed her he was distraught. Evidence shows that he was slowly getting weaker and weaker with no sign of an actual illness. He was heartbroken and didn't want to live on without her. So he stayed around long enough to reproduce before he died under the cherry tree, which was their special place."

What. The. Hell.

"Very well thought theories," Mrs. Henderson said. "I would like for you to prove them before presenting them in your final project."

I was stunned into silence. Bella took her seat and promptly propped her head on her palm and looked outside at the rain. I had no idea what to make of her! She was the ditziest person alive and yet...I don't know what else. How did she manage to get that information though? She never sets foot in a library if I don't force her...at least I don't think she does.

The bell rings and we are excused. I grabbed her arm as she walked by me. "Hey, where did that come from?!"

"Speculation. To buy time," she said with a shrug, "I'm late."

Her skin was icy again. I let go of her wrist. "Do you want to meet in the library after class."

"Can't," she said, shifting her bag, "busy."

"Fine by me."

She didn't say anything but her eyes caught mine as if she was going to. They looked so different all of a sudden. Warm and sad. She left silently, ignoring Mike as he tried to get her attention. That earned a glare from him to me. Joy.

She wasn't in any other class. I don't know why that disturbed me.

--

I peeled my shirt off and dropped it in the hamper. I sat at my desk and took the pictures off of the camera and put them in a folder marked project research. I printed some of them off just in case. One of them caught my attention. I picked it up. There was Bella standing beside the window. I don't remember taking that picture. She was facing me, her head slightly tilted towards the window. I looked closer. Her skin was pale. She wasn't photogenic at all!

It caught my attention though. Her pale skin. Too pale even for a girl with no tan. Like something unreal. I looked closer and I saw something else. Eyes. That couldn't be right. I was going crazy. I looked closer at the darkness of the shadow behind her. But that was weird in of itself. What was a shadow that dark doing in the corner near the window? I grabbed my pen and circled the eyes. I would as Bella tomorrow. Actually...

I stood and went to the window. She was awake, sitting at her window and looking out. She was completely zoned out. She looked like my mother when she was getting over the divorce with sleeping pills. My eyes widened when I saw them again. The eyes. The angry, smokey, eyes from the picture. Behind her.

TBC

Enjoy and review! I really want to know what you think! :)


	3. Chapter 3

DC: I don't own it

Thank you to my reviewers!

Chapter 3,

Wait, what!

"BELLA!" I called.

She didn't respond. She didn't look up. The eyes behind her had disappeared. I wondered if I was going crazy. Then I wondered how I could somehow pin it on her. I shook my head and looked at the clock. It was already midnight, no wonder I was seeing things. I crawled into bed and turned off the lights.

That night I had the strangest dream.

---

Bella wasn't at school again the next day. I found myself actually worrying about her. I tapped my pencil against my notebook and barely listened to the lectures given. What was up with the ruins? Why was Bella acting so strange? Why did I care?!

I found myself still asking those questions as I left school and drove home through the rain. I knocked on her door and when I didn't get an answer I let myself in. I went up to her room automatically. When I got there I saw that she was sitting at the window again just staring out. There was something creepy about the feel of the room.

"Bella," I said quietly.

She looked at me. She looked paler than usual and so tired.

"You look like hell," I said.

"I haven't slept," she mumbled standing, "what are you doing here?"

"Well I think I'm going crazy because I was actually worried about you."

"You? Worried about me?"

"Uh. Yeah."

"Interesting."

She stood up and stretched. Why was that interesting?

"You never care about me," she accused. She had a point though.

"I want to know how you're planning on proving those absurd theories you have."

"We're going back to the ruins."

"It's raining!" I pointed out.

"So?"

"It's not a drizzle. Look!"

She didn't so I made her. I held her head and turned it. I was blown away by how her skin felt. It was like ice!

"You're freezing."

"You're overreacting."

I glared at her. "Can you stop being so difficult?"

"Let's go," she sighed. "I'm too tired to drive so I'm going to risk it in your car."

She was such a brat. But we did need to find evidence for her stupid claims. I wanted to ask her about the picture anyway. I unlocked my car and we got inside. I put the heat on just in case.

"Look at this," I said handing her the picture.

"Congratulations you're on your way to being a creep," she said.

"No, I mean look at the shadows!"

"Looks like eyes."

"Good so I'm not crazy," I sighed.

"I didn't say that. I said the shadows look like eyes. I still think you're a whole mess of crazy."

I glared at her. She was still looking at the picture. Her hand was trembling slightly. She looked like she had cuts on her arms. They were faint though, like scars. I shook my head slightly. I was going crazy.

---

We got to the ruins. We climbed up the hill with some difficulty. My feet kept slipping on the grass. Thankfully there were a lot of stones hidden beneath. I looked over at Bella. She was panting and having about as much trouble as I was. Haha!

We made it up to the castle and went inside. The floors had about a half inch of water covering them. I wondered how often this place flooded. I looked up. There wasn't any water dripping from the ceiling but it was certainly dribbling down the walls. It was dark too. I turned on my flashlight.

"Where do you want to start?" I asked.

"Upstairs," she answered. I nodded and we went upstairs. There was the same amount of water on this floor too. Again, no dripping from the ceiling. I looked ahead and saw the window. I could see the rain pouring down outside. Bella jumped when my phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Sweetheart are you at home?"

"No." It was my mom. She was worried.

"Where are you?"

"I'm at...the mall."

Bella looked at me strangely. Mom didn't like me being here.

"The roads going into the city are completely washed out."

"All of them?!"

"It's weird! So sudden! Anyway I won't be home for a while. I'm sorry sweetie."

"I'll be fine. Be safe mom."

"I love you pumpkin."

"I love you too mom. Bye."

I hung up and glared at Bella.

"I hope you're happy! We're stuck here until the roads clear!"

Bella rolled her eyes. "Don't be so dramatic. They'll clear them up pretty quick."

"You had better be right."

"Or what? You'll whine at me?"

I glared at her. I splashed off angrily. She followed and we went into Carlisle's room again. It had changed. It looked...lived in. The furniture was back. Did I just not notice the last time I was here? I couldn't remember. I went to the corner where took the picture with the eyes and examined it.

"Edward, look at this."

I went over to her and she was holding a scrap of paper that had two words on it.

"Our tree? What does that mean?"

"The pink one," Bella said. "It's where the key is."

I looked outside. It looked more alive than ever, the blossoms were alive and well. I sighed. I couldn't believe I was going to do this.

"Alright, let's go."

We walked together. I was shocked when I saw that down the hall there wasn't a large hole where Bella had fallen. I went over and looked around.

"What is it?"

"You fell around here right?"

"Yeah," she said slowly, "yeah I did."

She joined me and we both looked down as if that would do anything. "This isn't normal."

She looked at me. Her eyes flashed to green then back to brown. I jumped back and the floor gave. We both fell to the floor below. This was how I was going to die! I landed on something soft and looked up. I was completely unharmed.

"Bella! You alive?"

"Yeah!"

We looked at each other. We were sitting in the water. We were sitting on the hard stone of the floor. There wasn't anything soft around. The water wasn't deep enough to cushion our fall.

"Bella...did something catch us?"

She wasn't listening. She was looking around. She seemed to glow in the dark she was so pale. I touched her skin and she was still freezing. She looked at me. Her eyes were definitely green.

"Bella your eyes..."

"We have to find where we are," she said. She stood up and tried to see a window or something through the hole. It was a good idea. I had no idea which way we were facing. I flashed a light down and nodded. She followed me. Our footsteps in the water echoed off of the empty halls. I pushed open a door and we found the massive staircase.

"Let's get out of here."

"Yeah. It's too wet."

"And creepy! Bella I think this place is actually haunted."

She nodded and we went to the door. I pushed it open and stopped dead.

"What?"

"Was there always a moat?"

"Nope."

There certainly was one now. A muddy one. There was no way that could just form! This was insane! I looked at Bella and saw that she was completely silent from shock. I wanted to be angry with her but I couldn't be. It wasn't like she had done this as an elaborate prank. She looked scared too. We were trapped in a haunted castle!

"What do we do?" she asked me. I knelt by the water and put my hand in it. It was moving. I went to the tree and snapped off a large branch. I put it in the water and felt for the bottom.

"It's deep and moves faster than we'd like to swim. We'll just wait it out. When the rain stops the water will calm down."

"Until then?"

"Explore the haunted castle I guess," I shrugged.

We went back inside and sat on the stairs. I had no idea what we were going to do. We had stopped by a gas station for some snacks on the way out of town. Thankfully I had brought them with me. I wasn't hungry and neither was Bella. After sitting in shock for a while we went back to exploring. We went upstairs again. This time we went the other way. I looked up as we walked and noticed that I was standing under a hole in the ceiling. The weirdest part was that there was no rain falling on my head. I could hear the rain outside.

"Bella what do you make of this?" I asked.

"God I don't know," she sighed.

I sighed. Haunted castles messed with everything I believed in. We looked in the empty rooms seeing nothing. I collected this and that as we went. We reached a door that opened to stairs.

"Shall we?" I asked.

She nodded. We went up the narrow twisting staircase. There was no water here. It was stuffy and hot.

"Edward...let's go back."

"Oh come on we're almost there," I said. Chicken.

We reached the top of the stairs and there was a wooden door. I took hold of the iron handle and it was stuck.

"There, see it's locked let's go," Bella whined. She grabbed my hand. They were still freezing. She looked at me with pleading green eyes.

She let go of my hand. I tugged on the door again. I heard a high pitched scream and turned quickly. Bella was looking around too. Her eyes were brown again.

"I don't want to die here," she whispered.

"We aren't going to die here. Stop being so dramatic!"

Bella turned and hurried down the stairs. I looked at the door once before going back down. I wanted to know what was behind it

"I will kill you again."

I didn't even look around for the voice. Something wanted to kill me or something else and I wasn't going to stick around. It was a man's voice, gravely and dark. I reached the hallway and Bella was gone. I wanted to blame it on her being flakey. But she had been scared. Very scared. Perfect! There was a voice threatening me and she was gone!

"BELLA! BELLA WHERE ARE YOU?!"

My throat was dry. I had to find her. Her mom was going to kill me if she died. I shook my head of any thoughts of Bella dying. She was a pest but I didn't want her dead! Mute or maybe in a vegetative state, but definitely not dead. I ran back down the hall hoping she went back to Carlisle's room. I ran to the window and saw Bella outside by the cherry tree.

"BELLA! BELLA!"

I ran from the room and bolted down the hall. I slid a few times on the wet stones but that didn't stop me. I ran outside and around the castle ruins to the trees. When I got there things were drastically different. All of the trees were dead. Bella was gone. Her footprints weren't even left in the mud like mine were. I looked at the tree. What was I supposed to find here?!

"Do you believe in magic?"

"Bella?!" I cried whirling around. It wasn't her. Was it just my memory teasing me? The rain showed no signs of stopping. I couldn't find Bella anywhere. To top it off I was going crazy! I was so out of my element! I was scientific and historical! Bella was the fantastical one! She was the one that read fantasy mysteries and loved them.

I fell back into the mud and did something I hadn't done in years. I just started crying. I leaned back on one hand and put the other to my head. I felt my hand sinking back and before I could react they touched something hard and wooden. I pulled out a box and opened it. Inside was a tiny bronze key.

Huh. Well how about that.

TBC

I was inspired to come back to this story while I was watching life after humans on the history channel. I kept watching it thinking haha, take that us! I actually think that once we are wiped off the planet we'll re-evolve into an even more intelligent being that will look back and us and laugh at our primitive ways. I also thought about how we are going to eventually kill ourselves off. I think about weird things way too much.


End file.
